Mat Item Number: 2947/2 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Large, finely-woven tan mat. All four sides have fringed grass borders, with two edges having thick, full fringes and two having thinner and more sporadic fringes. One side has two decorative borders, one of triangle shapes and a second, inner border of feathers. The feathers are arranged with their red tips outwards and their brown bases towards the centre, creating a striped effect. There are white feathers at regular intervals along the border. Three short lines of feathers run vertically up from the decorative edge of the mat.

Specific Techniques

Pandanus is known as either laufala, laupaogo, or lau'ie, depending on what it’s being used for. When being used for weaving, pandanus leaves takes weeks to be prepared. The leaf is separated into its three layers (traditionally using a beetle wing, known as avi'ivi'I, or with a razor blade now). The leaves are rolled and beaten, soaked, and sun-dried multiples times. To make the leaf brighter, it’s bleached in salt water. When woven, these mats will be finished in the opposite corner of where the weaver started (-for example, the terminal braid in the bottom left corner means it was started in the top right corner). If no terminal braid was attached, the mat wasn’t finished. The feathers are parrot: from the neck of a blue-crowned lorikeet (segavao, segasamoa) or a collared iory (segafiti, sega'ula).

Item History

What

Name
Mat
Identification Number
2947/2
Type of Item
mat
Material
pandanus leaf, parrot feather, cotton fibre and ink
Overall
height 160.5 cm, width 162.5 cm, depth 3.2 cm

Who

Culture
Samoan
Previous Owner
Gordan Gowland
Received from
Gordan Gowland (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Samoa

When

Ownership Date
before March 21, 2012
Acquisition Date
on March 21, 2012

Other

Item Classes
basketry
Condition
fair
Accession Number
2947/0002